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Posted May 21, 2012 07:07 pm

Simpson: Could collegiate altruism be replicated?

Could collegiate altruism be replicated?

We’ve all read the statistics describing the escalating disparities in the United States between the wages of the typical CEO and the average worker. For example, during the past 30 years, the pay of CEOs has grown 127 times faster than the pay of the average worker. Stated another way, CEOs make 231 times more than their workers, even though the productivity of workers has spiked 93 percent between 1978 and 2011. But these trends become even more disturbing when the pay gaps between CEOs and their workers are compared on an international level. The United States ranks 10th in the world in terms of the ratio of pay between CEOs and the average worker. We should be proud, however, because our ranking places us slightly ahead of Uganda and Jamaica.

I share these statistics as a way of providing context. Rather than detail yet another CEO who received an incredibly generous retirement package or salary increase, I want to share a refreshing story about the president of the University of Northern Iowa, where I did my undergraduate studies. Ben Allen declined his raise in 2008 and donated his salary increases the following three years to the UNI scholarship fund. As we reflect upon this man’s altruism and concern for the students and employees who are struggling to pay the bills, we wonder if these actions could be replicated nationally, or even in Georgia.